Images

False-Color View of a 'Rat' Hole Trail

This view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera is a false-color composite rendering of the first seven holes that the rover's rock abrasion tool dug on the inner slope of "Endurance Crater." The rover was about 12 meters (about 39 feet) down into the crater when it acquired the images combined into this mosaic. The view is looking back toward the rim of the crater, with the rover's tracks visible. The tailings around the holes drilled by the Rock Abrasion Tool, or "RAT," show evidence for fine-grained red hematite similar to what was observed months earlier in "Eagle Crater" outcrop holes. The exaggerated colors in this image make it easier for scientists to study these holes from millions of miles away.